What I’ve found really interesting over the last few months, is that what is happening in Great Britain is happening all over the world in some way.

In Australia, Dubai, New Zealand and other global markets I work in, the housing market has largely been buoyant since the pandemic started and is now easing from the frantic pace we’ve all been working at over the last few years. Interest rates are rising, and inflation is affecting affordability.

This tells me that agents all over the world will be facing similar challenges this year. After such a busy period for the market, I think it will be really important that staff at all levels of agency are able to identify, create, and maximise opportunities this year.

Agencies will need to make sure that newer members of staff get the playbook for this new kind of market from their more experienced colleagues, after perhaps only experiencing the frantic conditions.

Contributing to Rightmove’s new official qualification, the Level 3 Certificate for Estate and Letting Agents (CELA), has allowed me to speak directly to people newer to agency, and help them develop strong foundational skills that will help them through different kinds of markets in their careers.

I cover the topics of prospecting and managing leads, and techniques to generate more sellers and landlords – two really vital parts of generating agency business which I believe we can always get better at, meaning the sections of the qualification are beneficial both to brand new staff and those with a few years under their belt already.

Here are a few things I think will be really important for spotting and making the most of opportunities this year;

• Give clients perspective. We can be extremely short-sighted in the property business. It is amazing how quickly sellers can forget the capital gains made on their property over the last few years. It will be vital this year for staff to help clients see the bigger picture and give them some perspective. Any price drop is likely to be a drop on paper rather than a loss, and sellers may even be able to get a better deal on their onward purchase too. It sounds simple, but I think some perspective will be important to drive the market forward next year
• Nail the moments that matter. As all agents will know, there are a few key moments within a transaction that are the real barometers for the overall experience a consumer is left with. For example, handling that very first interaction with a client, managing the offers, the exchange of contracts. Make sure all staff know how to really nail these moments that matter and provide a great experience for your clients. These will be the clients that will be returning to you over time
• Make sure there’s a process for maintaining relationships with clients at all levels, so they can be contacted about future opportunities. It also means that the relationship is not lost if their point of contact leaves your company
• Make sure all staff really understand the different needs of the person they are dealing with, be it buyer, seller, tenant or landlord. Again it sounds simple, but developing this basic skill early on will give staff the skill of making the client truly feel looked after. Then, if a seller is looking to buy or become a landlord, they will turn to you first People expect a great experience from estate agency. Getting every staff member on the same page and using the core, timeless principles of delivering a great service, will mean that you can rely on even the freshest of faces in the business to handle difficult moments, adapt quickly and spot opportunities this year.

Josh Phegan is the internationally renowned speaker, trainer and coach for high-performance estate agents. He recently contributed to the Rightmove Level 3 Certificate for Estate and Letting Agents